The MIT style in Artificial Intelligence 1958 – 1985

I recently read both volumes of "Artificial Intelligence -- An MIT Perspective", which is a great view of the high-water mark of the MIT AI Lab. This two-volume set, put together between 78-81 is a review and collection of papers showing off the current state of the art in the AI Lab's work in five areas:

* Computer Learning

* Natural Language Processing

* Computer Vision

* Manipulation Technology

* Programming Languages (including short versions of GLS's thesis on CPS compilation for Scheme and Carl Hewitt's ACTORs paper, and a review-and-outlook paper on the development of the MIT Lisp Machine, among others)

Along with introductory comments by Patrick Henry Winston and Richard Brown, the set includes papers by Marvin Minsky, Gerald Sussman, BKP Horn, Jon Doyle, Richard Stallman, GLS, Hewitt, and more.

Taken in total, the collection shows how the world of AI looked from MIT goint into the eighties, before the boom and the bust which followed.

Now, you can get each volume for $1.00 on AbeBooks. Sic transit gloria mundi...